Sunday, May 15, 2016

Starved Rock Country Marathon

I ran the Starved Rock Country Marathon yesterday, which took me through Starved Rock Park. It's a lovely run if you like country scenery. It doesn't afford the most spectacular views of the park, but it does take you over the Illinois River twice. Also, you get a lot of countryside and a little bit of small town industrial infrastructure, such as a transformer station. For music, for some miles, there was the resounding shooting of firearms, at either a gun club or a trap shooting event or something.

Overhead, there were large birds of prey. The area is home to American eagles, but I'm not sure if that's what I saw. Whatever they were, they were dark against the sky. Fortunately, I was not a fieldmouse.

It was chilly, in the forties, with a stiff wind. The wind felt tough against your front, and pleasant against your back.

Once again, I was threatened with quad cramps toward the end of the race, a very annoying threat, forcing me to slow down quite a bit. Statistically, these are more likely to come to older, well-trained runners. So I am a statistical fit. After doing some more reading on the topic, I am going to try doing hip extension drills as my new attempted remedy. We shall see.

You're more likely to get quadriceps cramps
When you're a well-trained jogging gramps.